Fantasy Reapers: Lore

[Yatasal]

Reapers of Souls​

• Lore
• Reapers that Everyone Know
• Places
• Careers
• A Day in the Life of a Reaper

• 
  Origins: Reapers have no idea where they come from. There are some who have tried to find out, and the most they've figured out is that they began around the same time the universe did. Reapers are born in the core of stars, which sounds all poetic and stuff but actually just as dramatic as a regular human birth. They burst from the star and the first reaper they collide with becomes their trainer.
  
  Trainer: The trainer teaches them to do all things reaper. How to find souls, how to deal with grief, how to take the soul back safely. After a little while, depending on the reaper, the reaper is allowed to go out on their own.
  
  Hierarchy: There is reaper royalty, believed to be the very oldest of the reapers. Reapers do eventually fade away into stardust, their version of dying. Reapers ironically don't believe in an afterlife. When a member of the reaper royalty dies, the reapers all feel it. The respect they have for the royal reapers rivals any kind of loyalty humanity feels.
  
  On the Job: The reapers go down to Earth from the Hall of Afterlives and find the soul. They're given a location, but it's usually within a mile or two, so they actually have to search for the dead soul. Once they find said soul (who look like typical ghosts, transparent and in some cases glowing), they start the grieving process. There are various reactions to finding out you're dead, and the reapers are trained to deal with most of them. Once the soul accepts they're dead, they can either stay on Earth or come with the reaper to the Hall of Afterlives where they get sent to the afterlife of their personal religion.
  
  Powers: Reapers have several powers, but being in a relatively peaceful job they don't have much in the way of weapons. The most powerful of their powers is their calming effect, which they have some control over. Some can actually direct their calmness towards people, but this is a rare skill. The other powers involve a control over weather, though the reapers only use this to calm the weather or make it rain at funerals. Though beyond the reaper understanding, it makes humans feel better to have rain at their funerals. They also can fly, and use this to transport the humans to the Hall of Afterlives. They can also travel through dreams, and use this to help aid loved ones in the passing of their friend or family. The last power reapers possess is making others sleep peacefully. Humans prefer their loved ones to feel better, and the best way to do this, the reapers assure the souls, is a good night's sleep.
  
  Exorcisms: Occasionally ghosts will develop violent tendencies or rage, and become trapped. This scares the ghost, and they tend to become irrational and terrifyingly more powerful. When this happens, they are called Wraiths. Usually the wraiths lose all sense of humanity, and have been known to get trapped in houses, objects, and perhaps the worst of all, people. These are not demons, however. Just ghosts who have become trapped. Reapers can't untrap these poor unfortunate souls, but they can call upon the aid of psychics, mediums, and other people who are so inclined. Reapers can't communicate with the living (unless through the dream world) normally, but they can communicate with those who have the so-called "gift". The reapers take the newly-exorcised soul to the Hall of Afterlives, to a place called "Healing". Essentially it acts as a hospital and therapy, helping the souls recover and go to whatever afterlife they are destined for.
  
• 
  Ashea Spyri is one of the older reapers, and has dealt with more than her fair share of souls, and is famous because she handled the Salem Witch Trials. After that, she became a specialist in those who die from religious fanatics.
  
  Ashea has trained several young reapers over the centuries, and she's the one who trained Hosanna Nix. When asked about her trainee, Ashea would nod warmly with approval. She always complimented the young reaper's ability to quickly learn and her boundless compassion and patience rivaled Ashea's. When the reaper went off on her own for the first time, Ashea knew young Hosanna was ready. This was a simple case; Nellie Smith, a young girl who died after an assault. No problem.
  
  Ashea watched from afar, as was common for trainers. Hosanna acted as she normally would, and Nellie was easy to care for and coax into Hosanna's gentle arms. Ashea left her young apprentice, knowing that Hosanna could handle the case on her own.
  
  It became Ashea's greatest regret.
  
  Thomas Hardstone is a younger reaper. Reapers are born looking the age they are, and so most reapers can't tell the age of humans simply by looking at them. He's only been in the business for a few years, and yet he's made quite a name for himself. He's handled four exorcisms, and decided to deal with some older ghosts who have been terrorizing various places around the world for years.
  
  He's hasn't trained anyone, and prefers it that way. Everyone tells him it will change his life, that you'll never love anyone more than your trainee, and by the stars the love you feel. To this Tom chuckles and drinks, saying, "Yeah, right. Sure. And I'll believe that when the stars crumble down to dust."
  
  He never met Hosanna before her first case, but he was in the area, wrapping up a rather calm death. An older couple who died in their sleep, together. Both Christian, and Tom hoped they'd qualify for heaven. They were very sweet and certainly deserved it. He was getting ready to take them both to the Hall of Afterlives when he heard the screams. Normally he ignored them, for screams in the human world meant more work for him. But this wasn't a human scream.
  
  It was the scream of a reaper.
  
  Daniel Legion is the prince of the reaper royalty, poised to inherit the throne once the king passes into stardust. He's already ascended to the higher ranks and is well-respected among the reaper community. That is, until he met Hosanna Nix. He became obsessed with her, and Hosanna confided several times in Ashea that she was worried where Daniel's obsession would lead. Ashea from then on never let Hosanna go anywhere by herself, and always made sure she or another trusted reaper was with her. Under Ashea's tutelage, Hosanna was safe from Daniel. Daniel might have been the prince and heir apparent, but Ashea was old even by reaper standards. He couldn't publickly go against her.
  
  Still, he harbored his feelings about Hosanna. He watched her from afar, admiring her technique and abilty to have compassion on the worst of souls. In his eyes, she was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Even when he had a trainee, he watched Hosanna. The trainee was dangerously underquallified and released before he was ready. He came back, having caused a ghost to be needing of an exorcism. The higher ups decided that the trainee would go to a new trainer, Ashea Spyri, once she was finished with her current trainee.
  
  On that terrible day, no one knows where Daniel Legion was.
  
  Tessa Monroe isn't a very good reaper. She tries hard, but she just isn't very talented. She gets angry too easily, and has been with several trainers who have tried to teach her how to be gentle and kind with newly departed souls. None, so far, have been successful.
  
  Tessa is now working in the living chambers of the reapers, as a maid. Despite that, Tessa still studies. No one knows more about the different afterlives, religions, or customs of humanity. Tessa might not be very patient, but she has a photographic memory. She hopes to one day learn how to be a true reaper--not the maid they told her to be. She hopes that one day, she can become a scholar.
  
  Hosanna was the first reaper to be kind to her. Tessa and Hosanna became fast friends, and it was oftentimes that Tessa walked Hosanna home in order to avoid Daniel. Hosanna encouraged Tessa to follow her dreams, and apply to become a scholar. Knowing Tessa, Hosanna forced her to walk to the scholar's tree, and watched Tessa nervously ask for an application. "You'll become a scholar if it's the last thing I do for you."
  
  And it was the last thing Hosanna did for Tessa.
  
  Zane Imadi was born at the exact same time as Hosanna. Ashea was talking to another reaper, and the both of them got hit by Zane and Hosanna. From then on, Zane, Hosanna, and Tessa became the best of friends. Zane developed a bit of a crush on Hosanna, and the two started to spend a lot of time together. Tessa joked that they were destined to be, and Hosanna shyly hoped she was right.
  
  Zane proposed the idea of companionship the day before Hosanna left on her first case. The two were so happy, and Zane said he'd take care of the treehouses while Hosanna was at work. The two were quite happy, and Hosanna told everyone she met, including strangers and random souls who had just gotten to the Hall of Afterlives.
  
  When reapers die, it is a slow death that lasts a few days. It isn't painful, but usually if the reaper is part of a companionship the other companion starts their own dying process as well. It doesn't happen very often, that a reaper dies. The reapers have to be several thousands of years old before they even begin to think about their own death. It was unthinkable that a reaper as young as Hosanna could die.
  
  Someone had to tell Zane the unthinkable had happened.
  
• 
  The Hall of Afterlives: This is an infinite hallway, with doors lining all the walls. The doors all have simple golden plaques designating which afterlife it holds. It appears to be a sleek, modern hotel. There's also hell and various underworlds, and the reapers don't make the decisions, there are gods for that. The reapers simply take them to the religion's afterlife, and let the god or goddess take it from there.
  
  Haven: For religions that don't believe in an afterlife, there's a place for them too. Haven has several villages and cities, and they all vary from cyberpunk to rustic 14th century villages. It's a mishmash of time. It's also for those who are atheist, agnostic, and a host of other religions. Some reapers say it was created out of the combined imaginations of the people who live there, and most reapers accept this idea.
  
  Healing: The wraiths, once exorcised, are taken back to the Hall of Afterlives where they are then taken to Healing, a place where the souls are put into therapy and recuperate. As soon as they're healed, they're taken to their assigned afterlife.
  
  Forest of Shimone: The trees of Shimone are tended to by reapers who are either too old to work as regular reapers or choose not to. They have control over the trees, and get work orders from other reapers to improve their houses (within reason). They also take care of the trees in general, and keep everything outside of the houses clean.
  
  
  Spoiler: The Hall of Afterlives

  
  Spoiler: Haven

  
  Spoiler: Healing

  
  Spoiler: Forest of Shimone

  
• 
  Standards: Reapers who reap souls. This is the majority of reapers.
  
  Finders: Reapers who locate deaths (or soon to be deaths) and put together case files. This is the second biggest career among the reapers.
  
  Scholars: Those who study cultures and teach other reapers how to handle certain religions and humanity in general.
  
  Gardeners: Those who tend the trees of Shimone. They have the ability to control trees, an ability taught to them by their trainer.
  
  Speakers: Reapers who speak to psychics, mediums, and other humans who are supernaturally inclined. They tend to have some limited control over human emotion. Not a calming effect per se, but they can help aid the humans in their grieving process. It is the reapers' theory that this comes from time spent among supernatural humans.
  
• 
  On the Job: The reapers go down to Earth from the Hall of Afterlives and find the soul. They're given a location, but it's usually within a mile or two, so they actually have to search for the dead soul. Once they find said soul (who look like typical ghosts, transparent and in some cases glowing), they start the grieving process. There are various reactions to finding out you're dead, and the reapers are trained to deal with most of them. Once the soul accepts they're dead, they can either stay on Earth or come with the reaper to the Hall of Afterlives where they get sent to the afterlife of their personal religion.
  
  Relationships: Reapers believe strongly in single companions for life, and since they have no death among them (except stardust, which only happens after a very, very long time) they are careful and cautious when choosing a companion. Or some are. Other reapers are "desperate" and jump into a companionship without fully knowing the other reaper or knowing themselves. There isn't really marriage among the reapers, but once they decide to be a companionship they get matching tattoos, usually of something of great significance to the companionship.
  
  Living as a reaper: Reapers don't eat, but they do need to sleep every few days. Because of this, they all have their own homes, which grow (literally) out of trees. Essentially, all of the reapers have their own treehouse. When a companionship is decided, specific reapers who take care of the treehouses help them move closer together until they become one tree. Reapers do drink, but only alcoholic beverages. They don't get drunk very quickly, and very few reapers become alcoholics as a result.
  
  On Earth: While on Earth, reapers can't interact with anything except for the dead. This includes the ground, any objects, people, animals, everything not dead. Also: reapers don't collect animal souls. That's just a fantasy some humans have. Dogs don't go to heaven. They don't have souls. They just die. It's time you knew the truth. If you read this far, please include your opinion on whether or not dogs go to heaven in the OOC thread. I'm curious to see who actually reads these all the way through.
  
  Age: Reapers are considered in the infant state until about 100 to 150. Kids from 150 to 200, and then teenagers from 200 to 275, and after that they're considered adults. Take this into consideration when making your characters.
  

The main thread can be found here.
Please make sure you look at the OOC thread for updated information and more details.
If you have any questions, please also ask them in the OOC thread.​